Methods for provisioning a wireless beacon

ABSTRACT

A method to associate a unique identifier (ID) of an object, such as a Bluetooth Low Energy beacon, to a spatial coordinate in a facility is described. In one embodiment, the method utilizes a visual indicator, such a barcode to transfer a beacon&#39;s unique ID to a mobile device. In another embodiment, the method transfers a beacon&#39;s unique ID to the mobile device via an optical data transmission. For either embodiment, the transfer is activated by a user prompting an activation sensor, such as a push button, on the beacon, or by the user sending a wireless signal from the mobile device to the beacon.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to methods and apparatuses forprovisioning a set of Radio Frequency (RF) beacons to facilitate indoorpositioning in an area such as a warehouse facility. More particularly,the present invention relates to utilizing a barcode or optical datatransmission to communicate an identification of an RF beacon to amobile device that maps location of the BLE beacon and its associatedidentification.

BACKGROUND

Generally speaking wireless technology may be a useful tool tocommunicate and determine the positioning of objects in an area, such asa warehouse facility. The objective may be to generate a facility floorplan that maps objects in the facility and an identifier associated withthe object. In one example, wireless devices are located at variouspoints in the facility. A mobile device roams around the facility andcommunicates with the wireless devices that are each located near anobject. Part of the communications may include measuring the signalstrength to determine the location of the wireless devices relative tothe mobile device. Due to multipath signal propagation and other factorsthis method may be prone to errors. Although the mobile device may becloser to device A than device B, the received signal strength of deviceB may be stronger than the received signal strength of device A.Therefore, the mobile device may accept the identification of what itconsiders to be the closest beacon (i.e. Bluetooth MAC address), as theidentifier of the beacon it is collocated with. This creates anincorrect mapping of beacon identifier to spatial coordinate within thefacility floor plan and introduces error into any system utilizing thisdata. Moreover, this method is quite time consuming to collect andrecord the data.

Therefore, a need exists for improve the accuracy, as well as reduce thetime to efficiently communicate an identifier for the wireless deviceand map the identifier on a mobile device.

SUMMARY

Accordingly, in one aspect, the present invention embraces methods andapparatuses to associate a wireless technology such as a Bluetooth Lowenergy (BLE) beacon to a spatial coordinate within a facility.

In an exemplary embodiment, a method comprises egressing, with a mobiledevice, in proximity to one or more beacon devices; selecting, with themobile device, a procedure to communicate with one or more beacondevices;

If the selected procedure is a physical activation: selecting, with themobile device, a set of beacon devices, and prompting, with the mobiledevice, an activation sensor on the set of beacon devices to cause theset of beacon devices to display their respective barcodes. If theselected procedure is a wireless communication: sending, with the mobiledevice, a wireless signal in order to select another set of beacondevices, and prompting, with the mobile device, the another set ofbeacon devices to display their respective barcodes.

The method further comprises: scanning, with the mobile device, therespective barcodes of the set of beacon devices or the another set ofbeacon devices, depending of the selected procedure, to obtain theirrespective identifications, wherein selected beacons comprise at leastone beacon from the set of beacon devices or at least one beacon fromthe another set of beacon devices; mapping, with the mobile device, therespective identifications and associated location information of theselected beacon devices on a floor plan; and storing, with the mobiledevice, the respective identifications of the selected beacon devices ina database.

The method further comprises: if the selected procedure is a wirelesscommunication: measuring, with the mobile device, a signal strength ofthe wireless communication of the one or more beacon devices, andselecting, with the mobile device, another set of beacon devices thathave a signal strength greater than a predefined threshold value. Theone or more beacon devices and the mobile device communicate on anad-hoc basis utilizing Bluetooth Generic Attribute (BT GATT) service.The respective identifications comprise an encoded MAC address for eachbeacon device.

In another exemplary embodiment, the method comprises: selecting, with amobile device, a procedure to communicate with one or more stationarydevices; prompting, with the mobile device, the one or more stationarydevices to provide their identifications to the mobile device utilizingthe selected procedure; receiving, with the mobile device, theidentifications for the one or more stationary devices; and mapping,with the mobile device, the identifications and associated locationinformation of the one or more stationary devices on a floor plan.

The method further comprises: egressing, with the mobile device, inproximity to a selected stationary device; and communicating, with themobile device, with the selected stationary device by prompting anactivation sensor on the selected stationary device causing the selectedstationary device to display a barcode that depicts identification forthe selected stationary device; and scanning, with the mobile device,the barcode to receive the identification of the selected stationarydevice. The method comprises: communicating, with the mobile device, bysending a wireless signal from the mobile device to the one or morestationary devices; measuring, with the mobile device, a signal strengthof the communication with the one or more stationary devices; selecting,with the mobile device, the one or more stationary devices that have asignal strength greater than a predefined threshold value; and promptingeach of the selected one or more stationary devices to display a visualindicator comprising an identification, wherein, if the visual indicatorcomprises a barcode, scanning the barcode with the mobile device toacquire the identification

The method further comprises instructing, with the mobile device, eachof the selected one or more stationary devices to display the visualindicator at a particular time and/or for a predetermined period oftime.

The method further comprises communicating with the one or morestationary devices by: prompting an activation sensor on each of thestationary devices; and receiving light pulses comprising theidentifications of each of the stationary devices from opticaltransmitters on each of the one or more stationary devices.

The method further comprises: communicating, with the mobile device, bysending a wireless signal from the mobile device to the one or morestationary devices; measuring, with the mobile device, a signal strengthof the communication with the one or more stationary devices; selecting,with the mobile device, the one or more stationary devices that have asignal strength greater than a predefined threshold value; prompting,with the mobile device, each of the selected one or more stationarydevices to transmit light pulses comprising its identification to themobile device

The method further comprises: in response to determining that the mobiledevice is in proximity to one of the one or more stationary devices,saving associated location information on the mobile device. Theidentifications comprise an encoded MAC address.

In yet another exemplary embodiment, the method comprises: egressing,with a mobile device, in proximity to one or more stationary devices;selecting, with the mobile device, a procedure to communicate with oneor more stationary devices.

If the selected procedure is a physical activation: selecting, with themobile device, a set of stationary devices, prompting, with the mobiledevice, an activation sensor on the set of stationary devices to causethe set of stationary devices to display their respective barcodes; andscanning, with the mobile device, the respective barcodes of the set ofstationary devices to obtain their respective identificationinformation.

If the selected procedure is a wireless communication: sending, with themobile device, a wireless signal in order to select another set ofstationary devices, and prompting, with the mobile device, the anotherset of stationary devices to transmit light pulses to the mobile devicecomprising their respective identification information;

The method further comprises receiving, with the mobile device, therespective identification information for selected stationary devices,wherein the selected stationary devices comprise at least one stationarydevice from the set of stationary devices or at least one stationarydevice from the another set of stationary devices, depending on theselected procedure; and mapping, with the mobile device, the respectiveidentification information and associated location information of theselected stationary devices on a floor plan. The identificationinformation comprises an encoded MAC address for each stationary device.

The method further comprises storing the respective identificationinformation of the selected stationary devices in a database. Also, theone or more stationary devices utilize Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE)technology.

If the selected procedure is a wireless communication: measuring, withthe mobile device, a signal strength of the wireless communication ofthe one or more stationary devices. And selecting, with the mobiledevice, the another set of one or more stationary devices that have asignal strength greater than a predefined threshold value. Additionally,the method comprise, in response to determining that the mobile deviceis in proximity to one of the one or more beacon devices, savingassociated location information on the mobile device.

egressing, with a mobile device, in proximity to one or more stationarydevices; selecting, with the mobile device, a procedure to communicatewith one or more stationary devices; prompting, with the mobile device,the one or more stationary devices to display their respective barcodesto the mobile device utilizing the selected procedure.

If the selected procedure is a physical activation, prompting anactivation sensor to select a set of stationary devices and causing theset of beacon devices to display their respective barcodes.

If the selected procedure is a wireless communication: sending, with themobile device, a wireless signal in order to select another set ofstationary devices, and prompting, with the mobile device, the other setof stationary devices to transmit light pulses to the mobile devicecomprising identification information; receiving, with the mobiledevice, the identification information for the one or more stationarydevices; and mapping, with the mobile device, the respectiveidentifications and associated location information of the selectedstationary devices on a floor plan.

The method further comprises: scanning, with the mobile device, theidentification information of the selected stationary devices, whereinthe identification information is a barcode, and storing theidentification information of the selected stationary devices in adatabase. The one or more beacon devices utilize Bluetooth Low Energy(BLE) technology

Moreover, if the selected procedure is a wireless communication:measuring, with the mobile device, a signal strength of the wirelesscommunication of the one or more stationary devices, and selecting, withthe mobile device, the one or more stationary devices that have a signalstrength greater than a predefined threshold value. Additionally, inresponse to determining that the mobile device is in proximity to one ofthe one or more stationary devices, saving associated locationinformation on the mobile device.

The foregoing illustrative summary, as well as other exemplaryobjectives and/or advantages of the invention, and the manner in whichthe same are accomplished, are further explained within the followingdetailed description and its accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 schematically depicts one embodiment with a network of a mobiledevice in proximity to several beacons.

FIG. 2 schematically depicts the functional elements of a beacon.

FIGS. 3, 4A, and 4B depict flowcharts illustrating exemplary methods ofassociating a unique identifier of an object to a spatial coordinate ina facility.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The present invention embraces apparatus and methods of associating aunique identifier of an object to a spatial coordinate in a facility.When the object is a wireless device such as a Bluetooth Low Energy(BLE) beacon, the capabilities of the wireless device may be utilized tocommunicate the unique identifier with the mobile device. The mobiledevice may include a mapping application that may generate a facilityfloor plan of the wireless devices (i.e. beacons) and their associatedunique identifiers. Beacons “unique identifiers” are also referredherein as beacon “identifiers” or “identification.”

One of the use cases for this method is a for pick-to-light orderfulfillment and that may require a low power display (e-ink) to bepopulated on the beacon. These beacons are hung at each pick locationand will light up when their associated product may require picking.This display is used to display the pick quantity for the particularproduct to be picked, as well as other uses like displaying randomlygenerated check digits. This BLE beacon is also being used for indoorpositioning. Before these beacons can be used for pick-to light orderfulfillment and/or positioning they may be first be provisioning withinthe system. This means that their unique identifier (e.g. BT MACaddress) may be associated to a spatial coordinate within the facility.This is typically done using a mobile device application that has aloaded image of the facility floor plan. After the beacons are hungaround the facility, a user will need to physically walk around to eachbeacon, listen for that beacon's advertising packet (which would be theone with the highest received signal strength since it is closest),record its MAC address, and plot the location of the beacon on the floorplan image. This process may require a mobile device to listen for theadvertising packet of each tag. Accordingly, this process may beextremely time consuming and may be prone to error caused by multipathsignal propagation of other beacons (i.e. other beacons are read insteadof the desired beacon, as their signal appears stronger even though theyare further away).

The method previously described for provisioning a set of beacons isillustrated in network 100 in FIG. 1. The method utilizes the receivedsignal strength indicator (RSSI) in determining which beacon the userhas proximity, i.e. the beacon the user is currently standing in frontof. The method involves using a smartphone application on mobile device102 that shows a floor plan image of a facility and may require the userto walk to each beacon, scan for the beacons in the area, and take theone with the highest signal strength and plot it's positioning on thefloor plan image. Per FIG. 1, the scanned signal strength for thebeacons is as follows: Beacon A: RSSI=−89 dBm; Beacon B: RSSI=−43 dBm;Beacon C: RSSI=−88 dBm; Beacon D: RSSI=−64 dBm; Beacon E: RSSI=−44 dBm;Beacon F: RSSI=−67 dBm. The mobile device would then assume the beaconwith the highest signal strength would be the beacon that was closest.In the case below, the user is standing in front of beacon E but beaconB has the highest signal strength. This would lead to the userassociating the unique identifier (ID) (MAC address) of beacon B withtheir current location in front of beacon E, which is incorrect andwould introduce error into the system.

In an exemplary embodiment, FIG. 2 illustrates network 200 that includesbeacon 202, beacon 206, beacon 210, mobile device 226, and user 224. Thebeacon 202, beacon 206, and beacon 210 are coupled to antenna 204,antenna 208, and antenna 222, respectively. The aforementioned beaconsmay each communicate with the mobile device 226. When the beacons andthe mobile device utilized BLE technology and communications may beimplemented on ad-hoc basis. In one embodiment a dedicated BluetoothGeneric Attribute (BT GATT) service may be utilized.

FIG. 2 includes an exemplary embodiment of the functional elements ofbeacon 210. Beacon 210 may comprise transceiver 212, activation sensor217, processor 214 that comprises database 218, optical transmitter 216and display 219. Database 218 stores beacon identifications andassociated location information.

Beacon 210 receives or transmits a communication signal from mobiledevice 226 that is operated by user 224 via antenna 222 Transceiver 212may comprise a receiver and a transmitter. Beacon 210 may also receiveinputs from user 224 when the user prompts activation sensor 217.

The output of transceiver 212 and activation sensor 217 are coupled toprocessor 214. Database 218 stores an identification of beacon 210 suchas a MAC address. Database 218 may be flash (nonvolatile) memory.Database 218 may be considered a data store. Depending on the method andinformation provided by transceiver 212 or activation sensor 217, mobiledevice 226 may receive the identification.

Mobile device 226 may acquire location information of the beacon 210 byuser 224 activating a function (e.g. tapping a key on the mobile device)to save its current location when the mobile device 226 is in proximityof beacon 210. For example, mobile device 226 is in proximity of beacon210 when user 224, with mobile device 226, is standing in front ofbeacon 210.

Mobile device 226 may receive the identification by a visual indicatormethod or by an optical data transmission method. In the first method,beacon 210 may display a barcode on display 219 that may be scanned byuser 224 using mobile device 226. The barcode may be a one dimensional(1D) or two dimensional (2D) barcode. In the second method, beacon 210transmits optical data or light pulses 220 to mobile device 226. Ineither case, mobile device 226 may select either a procedure tocommunicate with beacon 210 by wirelessly communication (i.e. viatransceiver 212) or by prompting activation sensor 217.

When mobile device 226 selects the procedure to prompt activation sensor217, processor 214 may receive an instruction to send beacon 210'sidentification to display 219 in order to display the identification asa visual indicator, e.g. a barcode. User 224 may then scan the visualindicator using mobile device 226 and download the identification (e.g.MAC address) to mobile device 226. Activation sensor 217 may beimplemented via a button that is pressed by user 224. One skilled in theart may recognize that other implementations are possible.

When mobile device 226 selects a procedure to wirelessly communicatewith one or more beacons, the mobile device may search for beacons in anarea. Mobile device 226 may connect to beacons with high signalstrengths, and send instructions to display their MAC addresses via avisual indicator, e.g. a barcode, as previously described. High signalstrengths may mean signal strengths meeting a predefined thresholdvalue, or RSSI level. Mobile device 226 may maintain a list of thebeacons with the highest signal strengths, then individually connectwith these beacons and issue a command that instructs these beacons todisplay their barcode on display 219. Mobile device 226 may then proceedto scan the barcodes of the selected beacons. In one embodiment, thelist of beacons comprises the top n percentile (e.g. 95^(th) percentile)of signal strengths.

If a BT GATT service or similar wireless service is utilized, mobiledevice 226 may determine when visual indicators are displayed. Also, forthe embodiment illustrated in FIG. 2, issues related to multi-pathpropagation may be avoided inasmuch as if several beacons (i.e. tags)were instructed to display their visual indicators, user 224 may scanthe visual indicators sequentially based on the signal strengths of theselected beacons.

A communication signal may be sent to transceiver 212 of beacon 210. Thecommunication signal may instruct processor 214 to send beacon 210'sidentification to display 219 in order to display the identification asa barcode. User 224 may then scan the barcode using mobile device 226

After receiving the identification of beacon 210 and determininglocation information of beacon 210, user 224 may obtain a map of thebeacon 210, with its identification, on a floor plan, such as the floorplan of a warehouse facility. That is, a software application on mobiledevice 226 may associate the MAC address of beacon 210 with beacon 210'scurrent location when the user taps on the floor plan image of thefacility. Beacon 202 and beacon 206 may be mapped on the floor plan in asimilar manner as described above.

Also, for the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 2, issues related tomulti-path propagation may be avoided inasmuch as if several beacons(i.e. tags) were instructed to display their barcodes, user 224 may scanthe barcodes sequentially based on the signal strengths of the selectedbeacons.

As previously noted, in a second method, beacon 210 transmits opticaldata or light pulses 220 to mobile device 226. The second method may bebeneficial since it removes the need to listen for an advertising packetof each tag, assuming that the activation sensor was utilized to startthis sequence. The second method may utilize a LED on the beacon toflash a binary sequence representing the beacon's identification, e.g.BT MAC address. When the beacon is prompted, it may repetitively flash abinary sequence representing the beacon's identification. A camera,proximity sensor or other optical receiver on a mobile device will beused to view this sequence and decode the pulses of light intoidentification. By using method two, one can remove the need to wait5-10 seconds to listen for beacons in the area and we can be sure thatthe desired beacon has been provisioned.

In the second method, mobile device 226 may select a procedure to eitherprompt activation sensor 217 or send a wireless communication signal.These procedures are similar to the procedures previously described forthe barcode method, i.e. first method). Instead of displaying a barcodethat may incorporate the identification, in method 2, the selectedbeacon may transmit light pulses. The light pulses may have theidentification embedded therein. Mobile device 226 receives light pulses220 and subsequently decodes the identification of beacon 210.

If a BT GATT service or similar wireless service is utilized, mobiledevice 226 may determine when a light pulse sequence is started andstopped. This would allow mobile device 226 to scan for beacons in thearea. Mobile device 226 may connect to and instruct beacons with highsignal strengths (i.e. above a predefined threshold value) to start thelight pulse sequence. Accordingly, user 224 may not have to worry aboutmultipath propagation, as it may be acceptable if several tags wereinstructed to light flash their identification since user 224 may belooking directly at the tag of interest.

The conversion of the BT MAC address to light pulses and back may bedone as follows:

To transmit a MAC address, or any data as a series of light pulses onemay need to first convert the data into its binary form as noted below:

MAC Address: 14:5D:3B:A2:06:37

Binary MAC: 00010100 01011101 00111011 10100010 00000110 00110111

Once one has completed this task, one may designate a duration of timethat the LED is turned on or off to represent a single bit. Thisduration may need to be longer than the frame rate of the optical systemreceiving it. For instance, if one wants to support a traditional CCDcamera system capable of processing camera frames at a rate of 30 framesper second, then the light pulse duration may need to be longer than1000 ms/30 fps=33.33 milliseconds. This means the higher the frame rateof the receiver, the higher the transmission speed. In this example, itmay allow a little leeway if 40 ms per bit is selected, which is 25 baud(1000/40):

Light Pulse Off (40 ms) represents a 0

Light Pulse On (40 ms) represents a 1

This means that the beacon may turn on the led for 40 ms to represent a‘1’ and turn off the led for 40 ms to represent a ‘0’. Taking ourconverted MAC address above one may see:

Flash start transmission sequence: 10101010—(on, off, on, off, on, off,on, off)

Followed by MAC address binary data: 00010100 01011101 00111011 1010001000000110 00110111—(off, off, off, on, off, . . . , on,on,on)

Followed by end transmission sequence: 01010101—

The camera system may process each frame looking for the LED lightsource. If found this may indicate a 1. If not found this may indicate0. One may wait until one observes the start sequence and then may startrecording the MAC address bit data until one observes the stop sequence.One may use the timing of the start sequence as an indicator of thetiming of other data. The MAC address bit data may be converted into aMAC address byte array and delivered to business logic.

In an exemplary embodiment, FIG. 3 depicts flowchart 300 illustrating amethod to associate a unique identifier of an object, such as a BLEbeacon to a spatial coordinate in a facility. Starting at mobile device226 (step 302), mobile device 226 egresses in proximity to one or morebeacons and determines their respective locations on a facility floorplan (step 304). The one or more beacons may comprise beacon 202, beacon206, and beacon 210. User 224, using mobile device 226, then selects aprocedure to communicate with the one or more beacons. (step 306)Utilizing the selected procedure, the mobile device 226, prompts the oneor more beacons to provide their identifications (IDs) to the mobiledevice 226. (step 308) Based on the execution of the procedure, themobile device 226 receives unique IDs for the one or more beacons. (step310) Mobile device 226 stores the unique IDs and their associatedlocation information in a database within mobile device. (step 312)Finally, user 224 maps the unique IDs on a floor plan. The user may usean application on mobile device 226 for this step. (step 314)

In another exemplary embodiment, FIG. 4A depicts flowchart 400illustrating a method to associate a unique identifier of an object,such as a BLE beacon to a spatial coordinate in a facility. This methodutilizes a visual indicator, such a barcode to transfer a beacon'sunique ID to the mobile device 226.

Starting at a mobile device 226, (step 402), mobile device 226 egressesin proximity to one or more beacons and determines their respectivelocations on a facility floor plan (step 404). User 224 selects on themobile device a procedure to communicate with one or more beacons. (step406) The one or more beacons may comprise beacon 202, beacon 206, andbeacon 210. If user 224 selects a physical activation, user 224 promptsan activation sensor 217 on selected beacon(s). (step 408) If user 224selects a wireless communication for activation, the mobile device 226searches and selects beacons having signal strengths above a predefinedthreshold value. (step 416) Then mobile device 226 sends a wirelesssignal to selected beacons to prompt their action to display a barcode.(step 418) The selected beacons from step 408 or step 418 then display abar code on display 219. (step 410)

User 224 scans the barcodes on selected beacon(s) with mobile device 226and acquires identifications for the selected beacon(s). (step 412)Based on this information, user 224 generates a map of theidentifications of the selected beacons and their respective locations.(step 414)

In another exemplary embodiment, FIG. 4B depicts flowchart 450illustrating a method to associate a unique identifier of an object,such as a BLE beacon to a spatial coordinate in a facility. This methodtransfers a beacon's unique ID to the mobile device 226 via optical datatransmission.

Starting at a mobile device 226 (step 452), mobile device 226 egressesin proximity to one or more beacons and determines their respectivelocations on a facility floor plan. (step 456) The one or more beaconsmay comprise beacon 202, beacon 206, and beacon 210. User 224 selects onmobile device 226 a procedure to communicate with one or more beacons.(step 454) If user 224 selects a physical activation, then user 224prompts activation sensor 217 on selected beacons(s). (step 458) If user224 selects a wireless communication for activation, mobile device 226searches and selects beacons having signal strengths above a predefinedthreshold value. (step 466) Then mobile device 226 sends a wirelesssignal to selected beacons to begin sending light pulses 220. (step 468)Selected beacon(s) from step 408 or step 418 transmit light pulses 220to mobile device 226. (step 460) Mobile device 226 receives the lightpulses 220 and decodes the unique IDs of the selected beacon(s). Basedon this information, user 224 generates a map of the identifications ofthe selected beacons and their respective locations. (step 464)

Exemplary Embodiments:

A1. A device, comprising: a transceiver that wirelessly communicateswith a mobile device; an activation sensor; a database that stores anidentification of the device; and a processor communicatively coupled tothe database, wherein, in response to receiving a wireless signal fromthe mobile device, the device communicates with the mobile device via afirst procedure to transmit the identification to the mobile device; andwherein, in response to a prompt of the activation sensor, the devicecommunicates with the mobile device via a second procedure to transmitthe identification to the mobile device.

A2. The device according to claim 1, comprising a display, wherein, inresponse to a prompt of the activation sensor, the device presents avisual indicator comprising the identification on the display.

A3. The device according to claim 2, wherein the visual indicator is abarcode.

A4. The device according to claim 1, comprising a display, wherein, inresponse to receiving a wireless signal from the mobile deviceindicating a signal strength greater than a predefined threshold value,the device presents a visual indicator comprising the identification onthe display.

A5. The device according to claim 4, wherein the visual indicator is abarcode.

A6. The device according to claim 1, comprising an optical transmitter,wherein, in response to a prompt of the activation sensor, the devicetransmits light pulses comprising the identification with the opticaltransmitter.

A7. The device according to claim 1, comprising an optical transmitter,wherein, in response to receiving a wireless signal from the mobiledevice indicating a signal strength greater than a predefined thresholdvalue, the device transmits light pulses comprising the identificationwith the optical transmitter.

A8. The device according to claim 7, wherein, in response to receivinginstructions from the mobile device, the device starts transmittinglight pulses, stops transmitting light pulses, and/or transmits lightpulses for a predetermined period of time.

A9. The device according to claim 1, wherein the device and the mobiledevice communicate on an ad-hoc basis utilizing Bluetooth GenericAttribute (BT GATT) service.

A10. The device according to claim 1, wherein the identificationcomprises an encoded MAC address of the device.

A11. A method comprising: selecting, with a mobile device, a procedureto communicate with one or more stationary devices; prompting, with themobile device, the one or more stationary devices to provide theiridentifications to the mobile device utilizing the selected procedure;receiving, with the mobile device, the identifications for the one ormore stationary devices; and mapping, with the mobile device, theidentifications and associated location information of the one or morestationary devices on a floor plan.

A12. The method according to claim 11, comprising: egressing, with themobile device, in proximity to a selected stationary device; andcommunicating, with the mobile device, with the selected stationarydevice by prompting an activation sensor on the selected stationarydevice causing the selected stationary device to display a barcode thatdepicts identification for the selected stationary device; scanning,with the mobile device, the barcode to receive the identification of theselected stationary device.

A13. The method according to claim 11, comprising: communicating, withthe mobile device, by sending a wireless signal from the mobile deviceto the one or more stationary devices; measuring, with the mobiledevice, a signal strength of the communication with the one or morestationary devices; selecting, with the mobile device, the one or morestationary devices that have a signal strength greater than a predefinedthreshold value; prompting each of the selected one or more stationarydevices to display a visual indicator comprising an identification.

A14. The method according to claim 13, wherein, if the visual indicatorcomprises a barcode, scanning the barcode with the mobile device toacquire the identification.

A15. The method according to claim 13, comprising instructing, with themobile device, each of the selected one or more stationary devices todisplay the visual indicator at a particular time and/or for apredetermined period of time.

A16. The method according to claim 11, comprising communicating with theone or more stationary devices by: prompting an activation sensor oneach of the stationary devices; receiving light pulses comprising theidentifications of each of the stationary devices from opticaltransmitters on each of the one or more stationary devices.

A17. The method according to claim 11, comprising: communicating, withthe mobile device, by sending a wireless signal from the mobile deviceto the one or more stationary devices; measuring, with the mobiledevice, a signal strength of the communication with the one or morestationary devices; selecting, with the mobile device, the one or morestationary devices that have a signal strength greater than a predefinedthreshold value; and prompting, with the mobile device, each of theselected one or more stationary devices to transmit light pulsescomprising its identification to the mobile device.

A18. The method according to claim 11, comprising, in response todetermining that the mobile device is in proximity to one of the one ormore stationary devices, saving associated location information on themobile device.

A19. The method according to claim 11, wherein the identificationscomprise an encoded MAC address.

A20. A computer readable apparatus comprising a non-transitory storagemedium storing instructions for a mobile device to determine anidentification for each of one or more stationary devices, theinstructions, when executed on a processor, causes the mobile device to:select a procedure to communicate with one or more stationary devices;prompt the one or more stationary devices to provide theiridentifications to the mobile device utilizing the selected procedure;receive the identifications for the one or more stationary devices; andmap the identifications and associated location information of the oneor more stationary devices on a floor plan.

To supplement the present disclosure, this application incorporatesentirely by reference the following commonly assigned patents, patentapplication publications, and patent applications:

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In the specification and/or figures, typical embodiments of theinvention have been disclosed. The present invention is not limited tosuch exemplary embodiments. The use of the term “and/or” includes anyand all combinations of one or more of the associated listed items. Thefigures are schematic representations and so are not necessarily drawnto scale. Unless otherwise noted, specific terms have been used in ageneric and descriptive sense and not for purposes of limitation.

1. A method, comprising: selecting, with a mobile device, a procedure tocommunicate with one or more beacon devices in proximity to the mobiledevice; if the selected procedure is a physical activation: selecting,with the mobile device, a set of beacon devices, and prompting, with themobile device, an activation sensor on the set of beacon devices tocause the set of beacon devices to display their respective barcodes; ifthe selected procedure is a wireless communication: sending, with themobile device, a wireless signal in order to select another set ofbeacon devices, and prompting, with the mobile device, the another setof beacon devices to display their respective barcodes; scanning, withthe mobile device, the respective barcodes of the set of beacon devicesor the another set of beacon devices, depending of the selectedprocedure, to obtain their respective identifications, wherein selectedbeacons comprise at least one beacon from the set of beacon devices orat least one beacon from the another set of beacon devices; mapping,with the mobile device, the respective identifications and associatedlocation information of the selected beacon devices on a floor plan; andstoring, with the mobile device, the respective identifications of theselected beacon devices in a database.
 2. The method according to claim1, comprising, if the selected procedure is a wireless communication:measuring, with the mobile device, a signal strength of the wirelesscommunication of the one or more beacon devices.
 3. The method accordingto claim 2, comprising: selecting, with the mobile device, the anotherset of beacon devices that have a signal strength greater than apredefined threshold value.
 4. The method according to claim 1, wherein,the one or more beacon devices and the mobile device communicate on anad-hoc basis utilizing Bluetooth Generic Attribute (BT GATT) service. 5.The method according to claim 1, the respective identificationscomprises an encoded MAC address for each beacon device.
 6. A method,comprising: selecting, with a mobile device, a procedure to communicatewith one or more stationary devices; prompting, with the mobile device,the one or more stationary devices to provide their identifications tothe mobile device utilizing the selected procedure; receiving, with themobile device, the identifications for the one or more stationarydevices; and mapping, with the mobile device, the identifications andassociated location information of the one or more stationary devices ona floor plan.
 7. The method according to claim 6, comprising: egressing,with the mobile device, in proximity to a selected stationary device;communicating, with the mobile device, with the selected stationarydevice by prompting an activation sensor on the selected stationarydevice causing the selected stationary device to display a barcode thatdepicts identification for the selected stationary device; and scanning,with the mobile device, the barcode to receive the identification of theselected stationary device.
 8. The method according to claim 6,comprising: communicating, with the mobile device, by sending a wirelesssignal from the mobile device to the one or more stationary devices;measuring, with the mobile device, a signal strength of thecommunication with the one or more stationary devices; selecting, withthe mobile device, the one or more stationary devices that have a signalstrength greater than a predefined threshold value; and prompting eachof the selected one or more stationary devices to display a visualindicator comprising an identification.
 9. The method according to claim8, wherein, if the visual indicator comprises a barcode, scanning thebarcode with the mobile device to acquire the identification.
 10. Themethod according to claim 8, comprising instructing, with the mobiledevice, each of the selected one or more stationary devices to displaythe visual indicator at a particular time and/or for a predeterminedperiod of time.
 11. The method according to claim 6, comprisingcommunicating with the one or more stationary devices by: prompting anactivation sensor on each of the stationary devices; and receiving lightpulses comprising the identifications of each of the stationary devicesfrom optical transmitters on each of the one or more stationary devices.12. The method according to claim 6, comprising: communicating, with themobile device, by sending a wireless signal from the mobile device tothe one or more stationary devices; measuring, with the mobile device, asignal strength of the communication with the one or more stationarydevices; selecting, with the mobile device, the one or more stationarydevices that have a signal strength greater than a predefined thresholdvalue; and prompting, with the mobile device, each of the selected oneor more stationary devices to transmit light pulses comprising itsidentification to the mobile device.
 13. The method according to claim6, comprising, in response to determining that the mobile device is inproximity to one of the one or more stationary devices, savingassociated location information on the mobile device.
 14. The methodaccording to claim 6, wherein the identifications comprise an encodedMAC address.
 15. A method, comprising: egressing, with a mobile device,in proximity to one or more stationary devices; selecting, with themobile device, a procedure to communicate with one or more stationarydevices; if the selected procedure is a physical activation: selecting,with the mobile device, a set of stationary devices, prompting, with themobile device, an activation sensor on the set of stationary devices tocause the set of stationary devices to display their respectivebarcodes; and scanning, with the mobile device, the respective barcodesof the set of stationary devices to obtain their respectiveidentification information; if the selected procedure is a wirelesscommunication: sending, with the mobile device, a wireless signal inorder to select another set of stationary devices, and prompting, withthe mobile device, the another set of stationary devices to transmitlight pulses to the mobile device comprising their respectiveidentification information; receiving, with the mobile device, therespective identification information for selected stationary devices,wherein the selected stationary devices comprise at least one stationarydevice from the set of stationary devices or at least one stationarydevice from the another set of stationary devices, depending on theselected procedure; and mapping, with the mobile device, the respectiveidentification information and associated location information of theselected stationary devices on a floor plan.
 16. The method according toclaim 15, wherein the respective identification information comprises anencoded MAC address for each stationary device.
 17. The method accordingto claim 15, comprising: storing the respective identificationinformation of the selected stationary devices in a database.
 18. Themethod according to claim 15, wherein the one or more stationary devicesutilize Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) technology.
 19. The method accordingto claim 15, wherein, if the selected procedure is a wirelesscommunication: measuring, with the mobile device, a signal strength ofthe wireless communication of the one or more stationary devices. andselecting, with the mobile device, the another set of stationary devicesthat have a signal strength greater than a predefined threshold value.20. The method according to claim 15, comprising, in response todetermining that the mobile device is in proximity to one of the one ormore stationary devices, saving associated location information on themobile device.